The Light of the Sea
by Starsontheshore
Summary: Series of oneshots exploring all the different characters and their relationships. Chapter 5: Chat gets cookies and Ladybug learns something new. Celebrating Christmas with your partner-in-crime is always fun.
1. Marco Polo

**Summary:** Sometimes in the middle of battle Ladybug and Chat are unable to find each other. Fortunately they have a system in place for situation like these.

 **Pairing:** Ladybug/Chat friendship

* * *

If there was something she would never get used to, it was akuma battles. There was just so much happening at once she wasn't sure how she kept up. It was extremely demanding both mentally and physically. While she didn't have any injuries left on her after she cleansed the butterfly, sometimes she still felt the after effects. And many times she was kept up at night, thinking about all the split second decision she had to make that day.

The only reason she was still somewhat sane was because of her partner. Her partner that just so happened to be missing.

Again.

She needed to find Chat. If she didn't then- well she didn't even want to think about what would happen.

She bounced from rooftop to rooftop, trying to find him in the rubble of the broken houses, but the dust clouds that were forming made it hard to see. She jumped to the highest building that looked as if it wouldn't collapse under her. Her eyes narrowed, trying to pinpoint where Chat may have fallen. The longer she was unable to find him, the more panic rose in her throat. She was running out of time. She needed to find him now. She needed to find him before-

"Marco!"

She froze and her head swung left to stare at another building. Somehow with all the damage around the area, this was left barely touched. Some windows looked slightly cracked, but overall it was mostly undamaged.

She didn't move for a few seconds, praying that this wasn't happening to her.

"Marco!" She heard again, this time more clear than the last.

She looked to the heavens before mumbling a defeated "Polo."

A few seconds went by and then she heard it again.

"Marco!"

She slightly huffed and marched towards the tall building. The dust was settling and it was easier to see. More civilians had decided to check out the latest battle and there was a small crowd forming, but she was still unable to see Chat.

She cleared her throat, "Polo."

"Marco!"

Ladybug gritted her teeth and glanced at the whispering crowd, "Polo!"

The whispers of the crowd became louder as she felt her cheeks flush. She averted her gaze back towards the window, her eyes darting between each visible window.

There!

There he was, on the ground floor with one arm pressed against the wall and the other loosely hanging out of the window. She saw him grin mischievously before cupping his hands around his mouth.

"MARCO!"

"I SAID POLO GODDAMMIT!" She snarled before dragging him out through the window by his hair.

"There you are!" Chat grinned up at her as she lugged him through the crowd. "I was so worried when I lost you."

She grit her teeth once more, "Next time just call me you damn cat."


	2. Gotta Cat-ch Em All

**Summary:** Playing Pokemon Go is a harmless pastime. Unfortunately for Adrien it brings some unexpected revelations.

 **Pairings:** Adrien/Marinette, implied Ladybug/Chat

 **A/N:** This is based off a reveal scenario I wrote a while back on tumblr. I just really wanted to write a fanfic about it. Happy birthday to my best friend Shannon. We cry over Miraculous Ladybug and Pokemon together so I thought this would be perfect. SHE'S 22 Y'ALL. Go wish her a happy birthday at her tumblr babywerepurrfect!

Marinette was Pokemon trash. To outlookers, she seemed not like the type to enjoy Pokemon. It never looked like she was trying to "catch them all" or "be the best that no one ever was", but no. Marinette was complete Pokemon garbage. And she was proud of it. In fact, she owned every game that had been released.

Pokemon Red? She has that.

Pokemon Yellow? Of course she has that too.

Pokemon Fire Red? Yup, she needs the remake.

Hell, she had already preordered _both_ copies of Pokemon Sun and Moon.

So when Pokemon Go was finally available in France she immediately downloaded it and forced Alya to do the same.

It was tough at first trying to get used to throwing the Pokeball, but now she was the master at curveballs. In fact, consistently throwing curveballs and having the app open during her patrols to hatch eggs was what got her to level 9 so quickly.

"So my lady, what team did you join?" Chat whispered over her shoulder.

She jumped and rubbed her neck, "Don't do that! You scared me."

"Sorry," He grinned at her, "So what team?"

"Valor of course!"

"Ah yes, I should have known. It matches your outfit too."

"Matches my character outfit too." Ladybug let out a small laugh and ran her fingers through her hair, "What about you? You play?

"Yup!" He pulled out his own phone and showed her his Pokemon. "I'm Team Instinct!"

Ladybug looked at him critically, "It really suits you. You are a walking pun."

"At least Instinct is better than Valor."

Ladybug dramatically gasped, "You take that back!"

"For Voldemort and Valor." Chat solemnly vowed, causing Ladybug to burst into giggles, "Catch any cool Pokemon?"

"Nah." She stretched out and closed her eyes, letting the breeze cool her, "I have like 400 Rattata candy and 300 Pidgey candies though."

"Same," Chat groaned. "But instead of Rattatas I have way too many Zubats."

"You think being in Paris we would be getting somewhat decent Pokemon."

"Hey," Chat looked affronted, "My army of Zubats are going to take over the city."

"Oh yeah, of course."

"But seriously, I heard the Champ de Mars has pretty good Pokemon."

"Hmm. I'll go check it out later." Ladybug opened her eyes and a building near them fell apart, "But first I think we have a slight problem."

It was a bright and sunny day. The weather was great, and everyone was in a happy mood. Except for Marinette. Oh no, Marinette was pissed.

11 Pidgeys, 8 Rattatas and 6 Weedles.

Those were all the Pokemon she had caught during her walk around the park and now all she had left was 5 Pokeballs.

"Great Pokemon he said," She grumbled under breath, "Great Pokemon my foot. I could have caught all this at home."

She sighed, sat at the nearest bench, and lazily stared at the clouds in the sky. Images of Weedles, Caterpies, and Pokeballs littered the sky. She groaned and covered her face with her hands. She was doomed to spend the rest of her life catching the same Pokemon over and over again.

In one last ditch effort she glanced at her phone and noticed an unknown Pokemon. She bounced off of the bench and brought the phone closer to her face.

"Oh my god," She breathed, "It's an Onix. It's an _Onix._ "

She bolted from her spot and darted around on the grass and in between the trees. And there it was.

She squealed and tapped on the icon to catch it. Her AR camera was turned on, so she moved the camera to her left to find the Pokemon.

But along with the Pokemon, she saw _him_ and nearly dropped her phone in a panic.

Adrien Agreste.

His eyes were furrowed with concentration and she saw his pointer finger (and what a beautiful pointer finger it was) swipe up on the phone repeatedly.

Marinette blinked wide eyed at him a couple times and then stared back at her phone. Her love life could wait until after she caught the Onix.

She flicked the first two Pokeballs with her thumb and missed. Down to three.

She placed her phone in her left hand and threw another with her pointer finger. The Pokeball blinked when the Onix caught and she cheered internally. Only, not even a second later, the Onix broke free.

Marinette frowned at her phone. She only had two Pokeballs left.

Letting out a deep breath to calm her nerves, she fed the Onix a Razzberry. She waited a few seconds to make sure he wouldn't attack or more and then threw another Pokeball once more.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

 _She caught it_.

She squealed and gave a tiny jump of happiness, startling Adrien who had been staring at his phone. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her and he gave her a small wave. Marinette shyly giggled and waved her phone at him showing him the CP 146 Onix. Adrien smiled and did the same, showing off his with CP 83.

Marinette opened and closed her mouth, trying to make conversation, but instead of words, she nervously giggled once more. She slapped her hands over her mouth before giving him an awkward grin.

"Um… Hi?"

Adrien grinned at her and winked, "Well, seeing you here is Onix-pected."

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Really? Why do you always do thi-"

She stopped and her eyes widened. She stared in astonishment at Adrien.

Silky blond hair? Check.

Deep green eyes? Check.

A shit eating grin no one else can replicate? Check.

Her phone dropped.

"Oh my god, you're Chat Noir."


	3. Of Knit Hats and Opaque Masks

Adrien "Marinette is just a friend" Agreste is killing me, so I needed something where he realizes his love for Marinette. Let me know your thoughts on this!

* * *

The first time he noticed her he was too tired to think properly. He was sluggish, hungover, and irritated at the flurry of snow. After a fairly warm winter, the weather was unexpected and he was very unprepared. Adrien was on his way back home from a party at his friends with nothing on but a coat and just wanted to go to sleep.

That was when he met her.

Well, he heard her before he saw her. His eyes were firmly planted on the ground so no snow would be hitting his face. He only looked up when he heard a horribly out of tune rendition of an old cheesy love song. The first thing he noticed about her was her ugly grey hat with giant ladybugs checkered on the edges. Her arms were spread out wide as if she were conducting an orchestra and she swayed under the weight of her red backpack. She took small steps as if she were taking a stroll in a warm park and not in the middle of a snowstorm. He questioned her sanity for it was 5 am on a Saturday. Clearly she had been studying part, if not most, of the night.

He was all prepared to ignore her obnoxious singing and was ready to just walk past her when she suddenly stopped under a street light and looked up. He slowed down his pace and attempted to see what she was doing. She didn't move for 20 seconds, lost in thought staring at the lamp post. He tried seeing what she saw, but there was nothing other than more falling snow. Just about as he was about to ask if she was ok, she sighed deeply and turned onto a different road. The faint hum of "White Christmas" could be heard. He shook his head at the slightly insane girl. Christmas had been over a month ago.

Thinking nothing more of the encounter, he walked back to his apartment and fell asleep on the couch.

The next time he met her, he didn't realize who she was until after she left. The image of the senile girl in the checkered hat was long gone. Between classes, his modeling gig, and his social life he barely had time to eat let alone think. Which is why he wasn't surprised when he walked into his Physics class and discovered that he had left his calculator at home.

He wanted to slam his head against the desk. It was test day and it was just his luck that he had forgotten it. Feeling slightly foolish he walked to the front of the classroom and asked his teacher if she had an extra. He could feel himself blushing when the teacher shook her head and proceeded to ask the rest of the students in the class, the judgement and disapproval clouding their faces. Just when he was about to accept his failure for the test, a girl with blue pigtails wearing a sweatshirt with the school logo came up to him and handed him a scientific calculator. She smiled, wished him good luck, and sat back down at her seat. Even though it wasn't his graphing calculator he was extremely thankful he wouldn't have to solve the equations in his head.

Nothing but pencil scratching could be heard for the next hour. When the first chair was heard scraping back he and about 100 other people looked up from their test to see who had finished first. It was the girl who had lent him the calculator. She pushed her hair out of her face as she walked up the stairs back to her seat. There was a slight frown on her face as she stared at the ground. He watched her stumble as she tried to put her coat on without making too much noise. With one hand she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. The other hand was holding a grey and ladybug checkered hat. As she left the classroom he stared at the hat in her hand. The memories of the incident from a couple weeks back replayed in his mind. He smiled slightly at his calculator and snapped out of his daze once he heard the teacher call out the 30 remaining minutes on the test.

The third time he met her he realized they lived in the same apartment building. It had finally warmed up a bit and he decided to celebrate by taking his black cat Plagg out for some fresh air. Sitting on the bottom of the steps to the apartment he was thinking about what to make himself for dinner while Plagg hissed at a snowbank on the side of the parking garage. He heard the door open behind him and slightly turned to see who it was.

She stood there with her coat, backpack, and that stupid hat. She turned red and smiled at him slightly when she noticed his gaze. He felt his cheeks heat up at how adorable she looked completely swamped with her winter coat and hat that covered half her face. She took careful strides down the steps, her backpack swinging behind her and glanced at him for a second as if she wanted to say something, opening and closing her mouth, before walking away.

He took a deep breath and released a puff of air before calling after her.

"Nice hat," he gave her a toothy smile and ruffled his blond hair, hoping he didn't sound as awkward as he felt.

She turned and gave a bright smile in his direction and walked off.

It was only after she left did he realize that he still had her calculator.

The fourth time he met her, Adrien found himself utterly smitten.

The stress of midterms was finally over and Adrien was able to breathe a bit more freely again. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep for the entire weekend, yet here he was, forced into a three piece suit and a black mask that covered half his face.

Yup, somehow Nino had convinced him to go to a masquerade ball.

Nino had mentioned that a girl he was interested in would be coming to the ball. He had wanted to go there, but needed moral support. That's where Adrien decided it was his moral obligation as best friend to step up and help out.

What he should have realized was that it meant he would be forgotten about the second Nino laid eyes on his secret crush.

'This isn't too bad,' Adrien decided sipping on his second beer of the night. It was always entertaining watching the antics of other drunk college students. He just wished he could see Nino from his corner. He wanted to meet the girl that got Nino all flustered.

"You having fun?" A feminine voice broke him out of his thoughts.

He turned around to find a woman with long midnight blue hair and a black cocktail dress. Her face was covered by a bright red mask, the only part visible was her equally red lips and cerulean blue eyes.

"Hi," He grinned at her, "I got ditched."

The mystery girl let out a small chuckle, "Me too. So I've been drowning my awkwardness with Long Islands."She held up her half finished drink.

Adrien held his beer up in commiseration, "Well we here at the forsaken corner appreciate your presence."

She clinked her glass against his bottle, "Glad to hear it."

Her eyes twinkled in the dark and Adrien felt as if she were the only person in the room.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

"About 20 minutes. I was left behind 15 minutes ago. What about you?"

The girl brushed some strands of hair away from her face, "I've been here about an hour. We're actually supposed to go to another friend's party after this."

"Any special celebration?"

"Exams are done. Isn't that enough of a reason to celebrate?" She smiled at him and Adrien felt his heart skip a beat.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol coursing through his system that he decided to ask, "Do you want-"

"Hold that thought," The girl held up a finger and dug through her small purse. She pulled out a phone with a black and red case and fumbled with it for a few seconds.

"Hello?" There was a pause as she listened to the caller, "Yeah. Yeah, where are you? Ok, give me a second. Yeah, bye."

She ended the call and looked at Adrien apologetically, "Sorry, the friend I'm here with just called me. I need to get going. She's waiting for me at the front and I still need to grab my coat."

Adrien's heart sank that she was leaving so soon, but he smiled at her, "I'll walk you to the coat rack."

"How sweet. And they say chivalry is dead," she giggled.

The two quickly walked over to the coat rack and the mystery girl quickly found her coat. She shoved her phone into the pocket and downed her drink.

"You're drinking that a bit fast aren't you?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, " I paid 8 bucks for this. I'm not wasting a single drop."

Adrien laughed at how cute she was being, "Yeah that's a smart idea."

The masked girls phone buzzed and she swore underneath her breath, "I better go before Alya has an aneurysm. It was nice meeting you."

The girl waved at him and walked off toward the door. Adrien watched her for a few more seconds and was about to turn around when he noticed her reach into her pocket and pull out a ladybug printed hat. His eyes widened and he sprinted towards the door, trying to get through the crowd. "Wait! Bugaboo!"

A few people gave him a weird look at that nickname, but he ignored them and pushed through the crowd towards the door.

Just as he reached outside he saw a taxi pull forward down the street. He ruffled his hair and let out a deep sigh. He was doomed to never know her name and she was doomed to never get her calculator back.

The fifth time they met Adrien knew for a fact that he was in love.

Adrien drummed his fingers on the table's counter, waiting impatiently for everyone else to show up. He had been waiting at the table for ten minutes already. After a few more minutes of strumming, Nino finally showed up.

"You're late again."

"Sorry," Nino grinned at him, "How do I smell?"

Adrien froze for a few seconds and gave him a look of confusion.

"I put on some cologne," He responded.

Adrien shrugged and leaned in closer, taking a quick sniff, "Is that the sample I gave you from my dad's collection?"

Nino sheepishly nodded, "I had a hard time choosing, but this is the fanciest thing I own. I want to impress her."

"You look great, buddy." He patted Nino's shoulder, "She's probably as nervous as you are right now."

Nino gave a wistful sigh that had Adrien holding back a laugh. This was the most lovestruck he had seen him.

"She never gets nervous about anything. She knows exactly what she wants and she gets it. Alya is perfect."

Adrien rolled his eyes, "You've been saying that for days now."

"That's because it's true!"

"What's true?" A loud voice interrupted. Two girls approached the table, and from the pictures Nino had shown him he recognized the first one as Alya. The other had dark blue pigtails, bright cerulean eyes, and an ugly knit cap.

Adrien's eyes widened as Nino jumped up off his chair, "Babe! You're here!"

"Hi Nino," Alya waved, "Sorry we're late."

"Alya couldn't figure out what outfit would look best," The other girl piped in.

Alya scowled and lightly punched the girl's shoulder. "Shut up Mari," She hissed.

"It's ok, Adrien interrupted before the squabble could escalate, "Nino was late too. He had trouble picking out a good cologne."

"Bro!"

The other girl caught Adrien's eye and lightly blushed. She smiled at him and turned an even darker red when he returned the smile.

"It's good to see you again Bugaboo."

"Bugaboo?" The three echoed in confusion.

"Because… her hat... has ladybugs?"He weakly explained causing Nino and Alya to fall into fits of laughter. The mystery girl's eyebrows scrunched in confusion

"It's a great nickname," He defended causing Nino and Alya to laugh even harder.

"Anyways," He held out his hand towards the girl with a large grin, "It's great to officially meet you Bugaboo, sorry I stole your calculator. I'm Adrien."

The pigtailed girl grasped his hand firmly, and with a slight smile and blush she responded.

"I'm Marinette. It's nice to meet you Adrien."


	4. Conceal Don't Reveal

**A/N: Merry Christmas! This is my Secret Santa piece for inevera13! Shout out to mlsecretsanta for organizing this! Let me know what you all think**

* * *

Chat Noir was quiet that night. It was out of the norm as he usually had no problem chattering away about the small new things he noticed around the city. It had made their patrol much quieter and Ladybug wasn't sure what topic to bring up.

"Good weather we're having tonight right?" She asked to Chat, only to receive a noncommittal grunt in response.

"I mean just look at the moon." She pointed towards the sky with moonlight streaming in between the the gaps of the stray clouds. "It's a full moon tonight!"

Chat just hummed again, lost in thought. Ladybug's hand dropped and she let out a sigh, trying to have a conversation with him was like pulling teeth. He would bring up whatever was bothering him eventually.

"Have you ever thought about telling someone?" He asked after about 16 minutes and 23 seconds of silence. Not that Ladybug was counting.

"Telling someone what?"

"Your secret identity." She paused at that and turned toward him. "I know we don't share it with each other but what about friends and family?"

"We can't!" She exclaimed eyes wide, "They could be in danger if they found out! That's the whole reason we don't tell each other!"

"I know okay?" Chat Noir huffed and angrily ran his hand through his hair, "But what's the harm in letting some people know? They're already in danger because of all the damn akuma running around."

"The akuma-"

"The akuma still affect them. Some of the people akumatized have gone after my family and friends already." His eyes felt piercing against her skin.

"...my friends were too." She whispered quietly, "but we have to separate ourselves from our civilian side. We can't let our personal drama affect what we do here."

"I have people worried about me. Always asking why I'm so tired, why I'm covered with random bruises, why I always am missing every time there's an attack. My best friend feels like I'm drifting away from him. And I feel terrible having to lie straight to his face when he's so concerned about me."

She chewed on her lip, lost at thought. Thinking about Alya and her parents made her realize how strained the relationship had become recently. She had seen the troubled looks her parents shot each other when they thought she wasn't looking. She had been cornered by Alya almost every week regarding her lame excuses on why she wasn't able to hang out. She had even seen Nino give her worried looks when she was berated by the teacher for falling asleep in class.

"One day," she took a deep breath, "one day we'll be able to tell them. But until we know who Hawkmoth is we shouldn't risk it. We don't know how he picks his victims, but he may be listening in on conversations people have in Paris. It's too risky now."

She locked eyes with him, and gave a firm look, "We will tell them Chat, I promise."

Chat nodded at her solemnly, but then he gave her a small grin. "Let's go check out that building over there. I think I saw something on the roof."

Ladybug smiled back at him, relieved that he seemed to be happier, "Ok, but I'm warning you, if that something turns out to be another dying bird there WILL be consequences."

Chat let out a small laugh, "Whatever you say m'lady."

* * *

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked him one day. The offhandedness of her comment and her straight-forward attitude caused him to nearly fall off the ledge in shock.

"What?!"

"Have you ever been in love?" She repeated more slowly.

"Why do you want to know?" His brain was running at a hundred miles an hour trying to process what was happening, "Are you in love with someone?"

The seconds it took for her to answer felt like years of waiting. His heart clenched in anticipation.

"No," He let out a small sigh of relief, "Maybe? I don't know."

...And there was his heart doing flips again.

"Who's the lucky guy?"

Ladybug let out a mournful sigh, "He's in my class, but he'll never see me that way. We've barely become friends, I don't think it's ever going to end up as a relationship."

She drew her knees up to her chest and clasped her hand around them, "Have you ever met someone so flawless that it felt like you were in a fairy tale?"

Chat Noir tried not to look at Ladybug's face, "Yeah. Someone who seems so perfect that they seem unattainable?"

She nodded, "Every time I talk to him I turn into a mess. I can't form coherent sentences. I trip over inanimate objects. I act so unlike myself."

Chat couldn't help but chuckle, "Everyone acts different when they're around a person they love."

Ladybug perked up at that comment, "Do you think it's love?"

"Um…"

"Am I in love with him? I mean, I've never been in love before so I'm not sure what it feels like, but could it actually be-" Her eyes widened with every passing word and by the end of her sentence, her voice began to choke.

"I need to go." She jumped up and grabbed her yo-yo off her belt. "I'll see you on the next patrol."

And before Chat could even get a word in, she flew off into the night. He groaned and curled up on himself, exasperated he didn't have more time. He had been thinking about talking about his civilian identity with her for a while, but maybe it wasn't such a good idea anymore.

He didn't want to meddle.

* * *

This had been a bad week for Ladybug. Not only was Alya upset at her for all the obvious excuses she had been making lately, her dad had been akumatized too. Adrien and Nino had been tip toeing around the two of them as their friendship had become even more strained, and her parents were now not only panicking about Marinette, but also about future akuma attacks.

Chat had been right when he said lying would only hurt them, which was why she had called him to this isolated rooftop.

"So," Chat started, "lovely view isn't it?"

He gestured at the garbage bins surrounding them, "It's very romantic Bugaboo, I bet lover boy would be ecstatic having a date here."

Ladybug gave him a withering glare, "Stop that. This is important."

He grinned at her mischievously, causing her to let out a small unwilling smile. She couldn't help but feel happy every time she saw him and his infectious smile.

"Do you remember that conversation we had about the friends and identity sharing?"

Chat's rose an eyebrow, "The one where you said we shouldn't?"

"Yeah…" Ladybug took a deep breath. "I think we should."

Chat stared at her intently, "What changed your mind?"

"You did." At his blank expression she continued, "You said that we would only hurt those we love by hiding it. And you were right."

A slow lazy smile began to form on Chat's face, "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you clearly. Want to repeat that?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "You heard me. You were right, I was wrong. Whatever. I'm going to tell my friends and family my identity. I just wanted to let you know."

"I hope they take it well."

"I hope so too." She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling foolish. "When I said friends you know I mean you too right?"

Chat's gobsmacked expression helped in easing her nervousness. "You're my friend, and this may help our partnership. So I thought we could confide in each other first?"

Chat stuttered out a few incoherent words before Ladybug quickly stepped in, "You don't have to if you don't want! I just thought since we know so much about each other as it is, this wouldn't really make a difference."

After a few seconds of silence Chat spoke up, "So at the same time?"

Ladybug hesitantly nodded.

"Ok. 3?"

"2."

"1."

"Spots off!"

"Claws in!"

Marinette kept her eyes closed, taking a deep breath of anticipation. Thoughts of who Chat could be floated around her mind. She didn't realize how hard it would be to open her eyes. It was only when a familiar voice called out her name that she snapped her eyes open.

Standing in front of her was Adrien. And judging by the incredulous expression on his face, he was just as surprised as she was.

"You-" She pointed at him, "Chat? You're- What?"

"You're Ladybug?!" He yelped.

Marinette's thoughts raced around her mind and it felt as if a veil was lifted. Chat's blond hair and bright green eyes matched the exact shade of Adrien's. She would know after how much she had stared at him every day. How could she have not realized it earlier?

"The person you wanted to tell your identity," She began, everything clicking into place, "It was Nino wasn't it?"

Adrien nodded, "Yeah, he doesn't believe me about what I do during akuma attacks and was getting suspicious. You were going to tell Alya?"

Marinette pursed her lips in thought, "And my parents. My dad got akumatized and Alya and I haven't been as close as we used to be."

Adrien hummed in understanding. The silence dragged on for a few minutes as they both tried to process each other's identity.

"So who is he?" Adrien cleared his throat and looked at his feet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer, but at Marinette's questioning noise he continued, "The boy you love."

His eyes were firmly planted on the ground until he heard Marinette's unladylike choking. He looked up at Marinette only to find her eyes as wide as they could be and her face slowly turning red.

"Ohmygod," Marinette shoved her face in her hands, and moaned "I can't believe this. This isn't happening to me."

Adrien's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "Are you okay." He took a step forward, causing Marinette to jump back a foot.

Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, "Why do I have the Lucky Charm power? All I have is bad luck."

"I'm sure it's not that bad-"

"Only me. Only I could confess to my crush's alter ego. Bad Luck Marinette at it again." She muttered under her breath.

Adrien froze. "Me?"

Marinette's head shot up and she stared at him dumbfounded.

"Your crush is on me?" He asked hesitantly causing Marinette to squeak and jump back another foot.

How had he missed all the signs? Marinette acted exactly as Ladybug had described in their earlier conversation. Adrien slowly grinned as Marinette hastily covered her face.

She was so cute.

"So Bugaboo," Marinette peeked at him in between her fingers and his smile got bigger, "Shall we tell Nino and Alya together?"


	5. Santa Baby

My writing group did a Secret Santa event and this is my piece. Merry Late Christmas guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews so far, they fuel me to write more. If you have anything you want to see in the future let me know :)

* * *

The wind lightly blew throughout the city, scattering the stray flakes of snow that hadn't fell. The sunset glowed in the distance, hues of orange, pink and red peeking through the scattered clouds.

The smell of peppermint and gingerbread could be smelt wafting out of the Dupain Cheng bakery, causing nearby Parisian citizens to make a pit stop into the bakery for a quick bite. Marinette was found in the back by the ovens. She hummed a holiday tune under her breath as she pulled the gingerbread cookies out of the oven.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" The radio crooned.

And indeed it was a white Christmas. Snow covered every inch of Paris, and the addition of the sunset added an ethereal glow to the city. Marinette loved moments like this, moments where it was calm enough that she could truly enjoy the beauty of Pari. It was only when the timer dinged that Marinette snapped back to her cookies and quickly put them on the cooling rack, and began working on creating the frosting.

As a Christmas gift, she always made cookies for her classmates. This year she decided to create an extra batch for her partner. Chat had once complimented her baking, saying it was just as good as his favorite bakery, and since then she made him different desserts for special occasions.

There were gingerbread cookies for her classmates, and Chat received a different batch of regular Cat shaped cookies. A cat design with bright green glowing eyes and a mischievous smirk.

Marinette hummed under breath again and started decorating the cookies. She had to patrol with Chat in a few hours and still needed time for the icing to settle and to create the rest of the cookies for her classmates.

* * *

"Merry Christmas Chat!" Ladybug smiled at him and held out her neatly wrapped present.

"Thank you!" Chat ripped the package open and shoved an entire cookie in his mouth, "This is so good!" He moaned.

Ladybug giggled and swiped a cookie out of his stash, ignoring his indignant squawk, "Of course they are, I made them."

"Here's your present." Chat threw his small bag at her. She caught it with ease and slowly opened the wrapping paper. At his questioning look she smiled, "It's pretty wrapping paper, I don't want to ruin it."

She pulled out a Ladybug checkered headband. She paused for a moment trying to think of the right words, "Thank you?"

Chat laughed, I saw this at the store and it reminded me of you, so obviously I had to buy it.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, "Yeah obviously."

"But no worries, there should be another thing in the bag"

"Ladybug felt around the wrapping paper once more and felt a rectangular parcel, She opened the small box and gaped at the necklace inside.

"I also saw this at the store and it reminded me of you."

Ladybug closed the lid and pushed the box back at Chat, "I can't accept this. This had to have cost you a small fortune."

She glanced at the small bag of cookies she had given him and felt immensely guilty.

Chat chuckled, "Ladybug, these snacks are better than most of the presents my dad got me. Do you know what he gave me this year?"

At Ladybug's head shake he continued, "He got me a green sweater. Said it matches my eyes."

"What's wrong with that?"

"My dad doesn't know much about me." Chat sighed, "He thinks green is still my favorite color."

"What is your favorite color?" Ladybug asked, she had thought green was his too.

Chat slowly roamed his eyes over her form, slowly smirking, "Red."

Ladybug could feel herself blushing, so to distract him and herself she stole another cookie and shoved it in her mouth.

"Come on Bugaboo! Those are my favorite kinds!"

Ladybug stuck her tongue out him, crumbs flying everywhere, and tried grabbing for another cookie. Chat quickly moved it out of her reach.

"Nope. If you want it you're going to have to catch me."

"You're on." She grinned as she pounced.


End file.
